In the second half of our conversation with Sage CTO Aaron Harris, Emily, Doug, and Matt set the tech talk aside to hear his origin story, from turning down investors for his own construction accounting software to joining Intacct as its first full-time developer just before the dot-com crash. Aaron explains how he ended up carrying the founder title after the company shrank from about 90 employees to 22, why selling to Sage beat going public in 2017, and why, after 26 years in the same job, his best career advice is to keep riding the wave you’re on.

Connect with the Hosts:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilybmadere
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattlescault
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dlewis715

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Sage CTO Aaron Harris joins Matt, Emily, and Doug, for the first of a two-part conversation, starting with the personal AI agents he runs at home (several named after Blade Runner characters) and what people should look at before handing an AI their personal data. He also explains why he thinks the SaaSpocalypse isn't coming for Sage Intacct, why AI agents need a platform like Intacct as much as human users do, and why developers who are 10 times more productive should mean 10 times more software instead of fewer jobs.

• (00:00) - Episode Preview
• (00:56) - Note Taking Habits
• (02:12) - Building Personal Agents
• (03:40) - Blade Runner Inspired Names
• (06:38) - Holmes Memory Agent
• (07:34) - Privacy And Data Control
• (10:04) - Sage Copilot Naming
• (12:17) - AI Team And Code Legacy
• (15:19) - SaaSpocalypse And Platforms
• (18:57) - AI Workforce Reality Check
• (22:12) - Sage Strategy And Stability
• (24:39) - Founder Advice And Closing

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Join us on this bonus episode where Matt talked to Jessie Gu, Business Development Manager for Sage Intacct Advisory, about how firms can package and price client advisory services, build the right tech stack to scale, and put AI to real use in CAS delivery. Matt draws on 20 years running TydeCo to explain why verticalization and industry specialization (think nonprofit, healthcare, and financial services) separate firms that turn CAS into real recurring revenue from those still stuck doing transactional work. They also dig into Sage's AI close and financial agents and how firms can practically deploy AI without losing the human judgment behind it.

• (00:00) - Welcome and Agenda
• (01:12) - Meet Matt and TydeCo Story
• (03:59) - What Sets SIA Apart
• (05:21) - Packaging CAS for Value
• (09:24) - Vertical Niches and Fit
• (11:59) - Client Readiness Signals
• (19:31) - Nonprofit Success Story
• (22:27) - Pricing Models and Value
• (30:11) - Why Sage Intacct Works
• (33:56) - Program Benefits and Enablement
• (38:14) - Dashboards and Reporting Layers
• (41:16) - Beyond Implementation Support
• (44:02) - AI That Actually Matters
• (48:36) - New AI Agents Explained
• (50:41) - Will AI Replace Accountants
• (52:33) - Live Q&A Change Management
• (56:27) - What to Automate First
• (57:29) - Wrap Up and Credits

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